A nation of riflemen also came to stand for wildlife conservation
STANDING FOR SOMETHING--Colonial volunteers brought their Pennsylvania and Kentucky long rifles to early engagements with British troops in the American Revolution. Their proficiency with rifles came naturally, as the skill was required to put food on the table and to defend their homes. As the country moved forward, these skilled hunters would also become passionate conservationists.
“By the rude bridge that arched the flood Their flags to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Across the two and half centuries from the Declaration of Independence to present day, America, of necessity, came to be known as a nation of riflemen and hunters, and later in the cavalcade, thankfully, a home to de…